• Win a Free Custom Engraved Brass Coin!!!
    As a way to introduce our brass coins to the community, we will raffle off a free coin during the month of August. Follow link ABOVE for instructions for entering.
  • PRE-ORDER SHIPS IN SCALE TODAY!

    The beloved Ships in Scale Magazine is back and charting a new course for 2026!
    Discover new skills, new techniques, and new inspirations in every issue.

    NOTE THAT OUR FIRST ISSUE WILL BE JAN/FEB 2026

Le Saint Philippe 1693 after Jean-Claude Lemineur (Ancre) in scale 1:48

Good morning Paul. Cool pic with the grandkids. My only grandkid is a black puppy at the moment….hmmm. Both my kids are getting married soon, one in Jan and the other in Feb, (I’m sure this is a plot to break my bank accountROTF) so I’m holding thumbs they know how to do it and give us a “brat “ or two:D.
Eish - eye issues are scary $&@#. I’m sorry to hear this and my prayers are with you.
Yep, even with blurry left vision you still pull off outstanding gudgeons. Brilliant.
Stay strong my friend.
Cheers Grant
 
Family is important in a person's life, and seeing these photos of you here, you can consider yourselves fortunate to have such wealth. Beautiful photos.
Your rudder has once again become a small work of art. We expected nothing less. And we can't see anything in it that indicates you have a disability in your eye. So your wife is absolutely right.

And I won't say anything about this to your patients. Although I do feel sorry for them...
So if Americans start to look like Englishmen, then they are Paul's patients.ROTF
 
Whatever you do Paul, your work will remain strong and valuable. It doesn’t need to be perfect to matter, it already gives others space and motivation to grow their hobby. Eyesight is fundamental in everyday life, so protect it and manage your limits wisely.
When you can, keep pushing us forward with your experience, technique, and modeling standards. Perfection isn’t the goal. Solid technique and a clear modeling style are what count. It doesn’t have to be pretty.
Take care of your eyesight and keep control of medical process. Your eyes comes first, and your hobby should stay a source of strength, not pressure.

I wish you the best of health, and despite problems, thank you for the opportunity to see such a detailed and wonderful construction.
Kuba.
 
GrantTyler said:
Good morning Paul. Cool pic with the grandkids. My only grandkid is a black puppy at the moment….hmmm. Both my kids are getting married soon, one in Jan and the other in Feb, (I’m sure this is a plot to break my bank accountROTF) so I’m holding thumbs they know how to do it and give us a “brat “ or two:D.
Eish - eye issues are scary $&@#. I’m sorry to hear this and my prayers are with you.
Yep, even with blurry left vision you still pull off outstanding gudgeons. Brilliant.
Stay strong my friend.
Cheers Grant
Click to expand...
Back-to-back weddings! Don't these people talk to each other!?!?

Yup. Grandkids are the best - way better than a puppy!

Thanks for the prayers. I'll be going back to the retina specialist in a month to see the outcome of his emergency surgery and then another month or two later I can go back to the ophthalmologist to explore options for the other problems that have now been discovered. The six-million-dollar man had a bionic eye...maybe me too ROTF.
 
Steef66 said:
Family is important in a person's life, and seeing these photos of you here, you can consider yourselves fortunate to have such wealth. Beautiful photos.
Your rudder has once again become a small work of art. We expected nothing less. And we can't see anything in it that indicates you have a disability in your eye. So your wife is absolutely right.

And I won't say anything about this to your patients. Although I do feel sorry for them...
So if Americans start to look like Englishmen, then they are Paul's patients.ROTF
Click to expand...
At this point in my career, I'm pretty sure I can make teeth straight with one eye tied behind my back ROTF.

Indeed, we have been blessed with a fine family. Thanks for noticing, Stephan!
 
Last edited:
kuba91nt said:
Whatever you do Paul, your work will remain strong and valuable. It doesn’t need to be perfect to matter, it already gives others space and motivation to grow their hobby. Eyesight is fundamental in everyday life, so protect it and manage your limits wisely.
When you can, keep pushing us forward with your experience, technique, and modeling standards. Perfection isn’t the goal. Solid technique and a clear modeling style are what count. It doesn’t have to be pretty.
Take care of your eyesight and keep control of medical process. Your eyes comes first, and your hobby should stay a source of strength, not pressure.

I wish you the best of health, and despite problems, thank you for the opportunity to see such a detailed and wonderful construction.
Kuba.
Click to expand...
Great wisdom here, Kuba! And thank you as well for your favorable review of my work. I love this hobby. I'm just sorry I discovered it later in life.
 
Daniel20 said:
Paul, I remember you expressing concern about a health issue you had some time ago and am sorry to hear how it's still affecting you today. Prayers are coming on your behalf.

Your ships rudder looks great; the precision is remarkable.
Click to expand...
Much appreciated, Daniel. I'm of a mind that prayer matters so you have my thanks.

Yes, my failing eyesight has now become a rather protracted event. I have been compensating at work and in my hobby but that may not be as possible going forward. Still, there is joy in the creative process, so the work will continue as long as I am able. If I lose depth perception that would probably be a deal-breaker...
 
Once again I had to catch up. Love the family photo. Wow three Grandchidren and one on the way. Our Grandson just graduated from High School and will start College next week. He has topped out at 6ft 4in. I have to look up when I stand next to him.

Sorry to hear about you're on going eye problem. It's also been an a problem for me for many years, blurry vision, depth perception, etc.

Your modeling skills are outstanding and you're results are (excuse the expression) eye candy.

Best of luck to you on your follow up exam.

Jan
 
dockattner said:
On a more personal note...

Those who have been following my work for a while may recall that about two years ago I had an issue with my left eye (the simplest way to describe it is to say that I had a retinal bleed caused by the vitreous body inside my eye pulling away from the retina). When I asked the retina specialist how this could have happened (or avoided) he said: die before you turn 60 ROTF.

Anyway, right after the incident my vision was really bad and over the next 6 months or so it slowly improved but never got all the way back to normal. Basically, looking through my left eye feels like I am looking through wax paper. Over the past several months my vision has deteriorated so I returned to the retina specialist for another check and during that appointment he diagnosed a significant tear in the retinal wall and insisted I have emergency laser surgery that day (it only took five minutes, but it was the longest five minutes of my life :(). He also diagnosed two other issues that are less treatable unless I want to be entering into more risky surgical territory.

All this to say that looking through my left eye no longer produces the desired result if the goal is to see something clearly. The combo-platter of issues apparently cannot be corrected with eyeglasses though my internet research suggests my vision could be improved with corrective lenses. Strangely, I must be able to see well enough that I have not lost any of my depth perception. The brain is a wonderous thing!

I'm sure this is all affecting my modeling but the good news is I can't see my work with my former visual acuity, so I remain happy and content :). My wife assures me everything still looks good to her though she can't see that great either. We make a fine pair...she thinks I still have hair, and I think she's still skinny ROTF.

I'm not trolling for sympathy notes. This has been going on for a while now and I have hardly mentioned it. But the recent turn of events seemed like something I could share as long as you don't tell any of my patients Speechless.

Onward we go!
Click to expand...
Hello Paul
I sincerely wish you the best in this recovery.
Cheers
 
Pathfinder65 said:
Once again I had to catch up. Love the family photo. Wow three Grandchidren and one on the way. Our Grandson just graduated from High School and will start College next week. He has topped out at 6ft 4in. I have to look up when I stand next to him.

Sorry to hear about you're on going eye problem. It's also been an a problem for me for many years, blurry vision, depth perception, etc.

Your modeling skills are outstanding and you're results are (excuse the expression) eye candy.

Best of luck to you on your follow up exam.

Jan
Click to expand...
Thanks, Jan. You can see that Damian is thriving despite his rough start to life. He is always happy and sweet (or nearly so) - and that boy can RUN!

As I mentioned above, I suspect that given the age range of members on the forum there are more with eye challenges than those without. Good health and vigor are wasted on the young ROTF...
 
Maarten said:
Hi Paul,

You delivered some impressive work with your rudder and its beautiful hinges and now you tell us you did it with one eye. Time for us to find a new hobby.


But now serious, I hope for a speedy recovery but you showed you have a great family to support you.
Click to expand...
Thanks, Maarten. It's not as bad as you make it sound...I have 1.25 eyes ROTF. But you sure are right about my family: my kids even bought me a monograph for a future (smaller) project.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top